The inaugural Kanrocksas Music Festival took over Kansas City's Kansas Speedway last weekend, with headlining performances by Eminem, Muse, The Black Keys and many others. Impressive and well-organized in its debut year, the festival is being called a mini-Lollapalooza, as many of the same bands performed as they made their way to and from the Chicago fest (held the same weekend). Along with Eminem's epic performance, Bowling Green, Ky., AltRock sensation Cage the Elephant was an energetic highlight. The band's current tour in support of Thank You Happy Birthday (featuring the hit "Shake Me Down"), kicked off in Cincinnati in March when CtE also became part of Cincinnati Reds history, leading fans through the first "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" of the season on opening day. CityBeat sat down with lead guitarist Lincoln Parish and rhythm guitarist Brad Schultz (pictured) before they took Kansrocksas' stage to talk about that Cincinnati visit and more.

Modern Roots/AltCountry/Folk duo plays Bogart's March 24

Honeyhoney is an up-and-coming group out of Los Angeles that offers a soulful, folksy sound that has led to comparisons to The Avett Brothers and Mumford and Sons. A combination of Suzanne Santo's strong voice and banjo/fiddle playing and the voice and guitar of Ben Jaffe, honeyhoney's sound (despite the comparisons) is a unique hybrid that has been intriguing audiences since last October's release of Billy Jack and the subsequent relentless touring.

The pair spoke with CityBeat by phone to promote Saturday's performance in Cincinnati at Bogart's (in the club's "Front Room"). (Click here for more info.)

CityBeat: I picked up your latest album in the fall when Billy Jack was released and I love it. I saw you were also previewed in Country Weekly in the fall and I just wanted to ask if you consider yourself a Country band.

Ben Jaffe: We don’t but that is kind of a genre that has been thrown at us now, of course, not in a bad way. I should have said "tossed gently to us" and we caught it. It has been a kind of interesting opportunity because we have had a lot of trouble aligning ourselves with a specific group. Everyone says “It sounds like this” or “not enough this” or “not enough that.” I think we are really happy to be embraced by Country people and we love to play in front of them, but I don’t think we call ourselves a Country band.

CB: It’s actually a hard genre to break into. I cover all kinds of music and it’s one of the harder types of music to get the fans to rally around you.

BJ: Completely. And it’s such a citadel, there is a real industry around it so I think that explains why it is tough to make a wave and whatever little ripple we are making is cool and we like to pursue it. Actually, it is interesting, Jamey Johnson was at one of our shows the other day and he expressed some support for us and we might play some shows with him so it kind of seems like it is pulling us in, like in Godfather: Part II.

CB: Would you modify your sound or your songs to adapt to Country music?

BJ: No. How it works though is the more you listen, the more you can integrate subconsciously. This record that we released most recently, both of us got obsessed with Hank Williams. I don’t know if it is out of respect or out of interest, (but) there are songs on the record that are straight Hank Williams rip-offs. I don’t see it as adapting to fit in to a genre or section but the more you get exposed to it, you can’t help but integrate it because it is great music.

CB: Can you tell me a little about the song “Little Toy Gun”?

BJ: That came out a while ago. That was something that I actually recorded on my own separately before the band, and when we got together, eventually, it became part of our set. It was the one that the label believed in, so we made this crazy video which was an amazing experience. Kiefer Sutherland directed it and we had a trailer. We were like movie stars for 20 minutes. It is one of those songs that has stuck around. People still reach out to us to use the song.

CB: You guys are on the Coachella roster, correct?

BJ: Yes ma’am

CB: That is pretty exciting in itself. What else exciting do you guys have coming up this summer?

BJ: We are opening for a guy named James Morrison who is doing a tour in May. Then we are playing this thing called the Sasquatch Festival that Tenacious D is playing. So we are accomplishing some of our, highest, loftiest goals to play with Tenacious D. This could be our shot. Sheryl Crow has asked us to open up a few dates. All of this has been happening really recently. It has been really crazy. Then we are playing at the Newport Folk Festival and then hopefully after that we will become addicted to hard drugs and our careers will be over.

CB: We will find you in an alley somewhere in L.A.

BJ: (laughing) Yeah

CB: I have a couple funny questions. I have been playing this table game where you pick out questions to answer. Some of them are funny so I am going to try them out on you guys.

BJ: OK.

CB: What was the last thing you bought at a drive-thru window?

BJ: Oh, God. (asking someone else) Hey what was the last thing we bought at a drive-thru window? They don’t allow vans through the drive-thru a lot of times so I guess it was at the bank ATM.

CB: So money?

BJ: Yeah, cash.

CB: What is your favorite dirty movie?

BJ: My favorite dirty movie, like pornographic film?

CB: It doesn’t have to be, it can go either way.

BJ: Yeah, we are mainly streamers. You can say that. I would say either Dark Side of the Poon or Wild Things Part 3. At this point can I hand you over to Suzanne?

Suzanne Santo: Hello Amy.

CB: I ran him off with some of my questions I guess.

SS: No, I think he was more looking forward to me answering any more pornographic questions that you may have.

CB: No, I got a new table game so I have been trying out some of the questions.

SS: What is your table game called?

CB: It’s a cube of cards that you get and you put it on the table and you have people pick a card out and they have to answer a question.

SS: OK. Have you played Dirty Jenga, that’s fun too?

CB: No I haven’t. I have to look that up.

SS: It’s not dirty-dirty, like totally inappropriate. It’s like “Bite the ear of the person to your left” or “Make an orgasmic noise.” Each block has a dare written on it.

CB: You not only have to take the block out but you have to do what is written on it. Nice.

SS: It is kind of a “do it yourself” kind of game so it is at your discretion what you want the blocks to say. So if I were you, I would choose my company wisely.

CB: I wanted to specifically talk to you about growing up in Ohio. I know you are from Cleveland and the Midwest. How did growing up in Cleveland or the Midwest influence your music?

SS: Well, to be honest with you, I wouldn’t say that the Midwest has influenced my style tremendously. Well, that’s not true because there was a lot of music growing up. I grew up in Strongsville which is 25 minutes South of Cleveland and there is definitely adjacent farmland that is not very far, within a mile or two.

When I was in L.A. about a month ago, I met Drew Carey at a diner. I went, “Hello Drew, my name is Suzanne from Parma, Ohio, and I just want you to know that I love you.” I said, “I think you are the greatest and I love what you do for Cleveland.” I tweeted at him later in the day and he retweeted my tweet and I was, “That’s it. I’m done. I have achieved my goals.”

I guess there were Country elements I grew up listening to but my family owned an Italian restaurant and they played a lot of Jazz music like Rosemary Clooney, Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin and that kind of thing. There was definitely a Jazz influence from the get-go, I love Jazz with a true, infinite passion. It never ends, is what I meant to say. I grew up with a lot of that and Country music, it was mainly Pop Country that I was hearing here and there but I really got into Hank Williams, Loretta Lynn and Patsy Cline and that kind of stuff later, after I had already left Ohio. When we started our band in L.A., we frequented Nashville and every time, we got a little bit deeper into classic Country like Johnny Cash.

CB: Do you have any fun Cincinnati memories from playing or being around town?

Trans-Siberian Orchestra combines a night at the symphony with an in-your-face Rock concert experience and is best known for its holiday-centric shows, with grand musical scores and massive light and production pieces that stimulate your visual senses as much as your auditory ones. The project began in 1993 and has evolved into one of the biggest holiday tickets across the country. It's also something of a Cincinnati tradition, as the group usual performs in the area come the holidays. CityBeat spoke with Al Pitrelli last week in advance of TSO's appearance in Cincinnati today at U.S. Bank Arena, with shows at 4 p.m. and 8 p.m.

Danish metallers play U.S. Bank Arena this Sunday

Volbeat has been headlining huge shows in Europe for
nearly a decade and now they are bringing their Metal sound to the
States. In the position of up-and-comer again, they bring their high
level energy to American, which has translated into sold out shows
across the country. Currently Volbeat is touring on its new album, Outlaw Gentlemen and Shady Ladies.

CityBeat was able to catch up with new band member
and former Anthrax lead guitarist Rob Caggiano in preparation for the
band's upcoming show in Cincinnati to discuss the transition into a new
band and his broad musical influences that have helped him evolve since
childhood. He definitely has brings a strong, veteran presence to a band
that was already rising to new heights. Check out Volbeat headlining
the Rock Allegiance Tour at US Bank Arena this Sunday with HIM, All That
Remains and Airbourne.

CityBeat: Could you tell me about the
moment in the studio working with Volbeat on their new album that you
realized you really could be in the band or it would be a good fit?

Rob Caggiano: They had asked me to be a part of it
two weeks into the process of recording. So it was pretty early on into
the whole thing. I think it really stemmed from the first meeting we had
when they called me initially when I left Anthrax and put the press
release out there. A couple days later I flew to Denmark and sat down
with Michael and went over the tunes and then ideas for the new record.
We ended up collaborating and making music together. It was such a fun
vibe and such a great chemistry. I think that was kind of a catalyst for
everything else.

CB: I saw you guys at Rock on the Range
for the first time playing together. It was really amazing. What was
your favorite Rock on the Range moment this year?

RC: We definitely had a really good time during our
show. It was a lot of fun. Rock on the Range, to me, is one of the
coolest festivals here in the States. It seems like America is catching
up finally with what is going on in Europe with these outdoor festivals.
Rock on the Range is very well put together, very organized, just very
pro and well done. It’s always a good time. I did get a chance to see
Lamb of God play, about half their set and that was killer. It was great
to see Randy back up on stage.

CB: Has there been any hazing or initiation since you joined the band?

RC: Not really, I was doing all the hazing. It has
been pretty cool, pretty seamless, the whole transition. The way it went
down, it was very organic and felt very comfortable from the beginning.
It has been cool. We are having a blast.

CB: I know it must have been a difficult
decision to leave Anthrax which had been your job for the last 12 years.
What were the factors for moving on?

RC: I just had this feeling of being stuck. I just
felt like I was on a conveyor belt, doing that for so long. I still love
those guys dearly and they are like my family. I just wasn’t happy. It
got to the point where I just wasn’t happy and I was questioning myself
and what I am doing here. What are we doing? What’s going to happen in
the future? I just came to the conclusion I needed a change.

I think the main part of the problem was that Anthrax was
never a creative outlet for me. By no choice of my own, that was just
the way it had been. I think after all those years my heart wasn’t in it
anymore and I needed something different. It was definitely an
emotional, difficult decision to make but it was something that needed
to be done.

CB: What is your favorite guitar solo to play on the new Volbeat record and out on tour?

RC: I have two favorites. I enjoy playing the “Lola Montez” solo and the “Doc Holliday” solo.

CB: I know you have been producing for
several years helping out bands and doing Anthrax and Volbeat records.
Do you ever see yourself stepping out of Rock or Metal and producing
other genres? There are a lot of collaborations happening right now with
different genres of music.

RC: Absolutely. I never saw myself as a solely a
Metal producer. To be honest, when I am at home, I don’t really listen
to Metal. It’s probably because it is what I do all the time. My
influences are really varied and I listen to so many different albums
and genres of music. I just consider myself a musician. I put 100% of my
heart into whatever I am working on. With all these different
influences, I can definitely do a lot of different things and have done a
lot of different things in the past.

CB: What are you listening to right now? What is influencing you?

RC: My favorite record right now, if we are talking
about new bands and newer records, is this band called The National. I
think (they're) phenomenal.

CB: They are actually from Cincinnati.

RC: Yeah, it seems like they are doing pretty well
all over the world. Their new record is phenomenal. I think it is just
great, the production is amazing, the songs are great. I have never met
the band. I had heard the name but I had never heard the music. We were
doing a record signing in Copenhagen and I asked one of the girls at the
store what was her favorite record, what should I check out, what came
in that is the new hot record. She said to get the new National record. I
said “Ok, I’ll give it a shot.” She was right. I dig it. I like Lana
Del Rey too.

CB: Do you ever plan to sit down and write your Rock biography?

RC: Maybe one day down the road. I don’t know if I’m ready yet.

CB: I’m sure you have plenty of stories. What is your craziest tour story with Volbeat right now?

RC: It really isn’t that crazy on the road with
these guys. It’s pretty mellow. It is a very focused thing. We do our
show … the thing about being on tour, especially with Volbeat, we are
headlining a lot of these festivals in Europe so we are going on late.
We get there early at these festival sites and have a whole day of
nothing. It is kind of boring just waiting to go on stage. Nothing
really crazy has happened yet but I will keep you posted.

CB: I am shocked you haven’t seen crazy things at the European festivals with fans.

RC: I guess it depends what you call crazy.

CB: Yeah, your idea of crazy may be different than mine. You may be like, “That’s totally normal.”

RC: Exactly

CB: What was the name of your first band?

RC: My first band ever was when I was 14 years old. We were called “Wild Heart.”

CB: Do you keep in touch with those guys?

RC: Kind of. I saw the other guitar player recently in
Florida. He has been a friend of mine forever. The rest of the guys I
have not spoken to in a long time.

CB: Do you play any other instruments?

RC: Yeah, I play drums. I play keys. I do our
programming when I need to. I just make noise basically. I can pretty
much get anything to sound decent. As a kid, I started out playing drums
so that has always been in my heart. I went to the guitar from that.

CB: Your parents were supportive of the drums in the house?

RC: Well they bought them. Yeah, my parents were
huge supporters of my music. My Dad is really into the music thing. It
was definitely a very healthy atmosphere growing up for creativity and
inspiration. There was always music around which was cool.

CB: I started hearing about Volbeat and
listening to Volbeat about two years ago when they were just coming to
the U.S. Obviously they are huge in Europe, beyond headlining. What do
you think is the biggest difference so far in the U.S. shows and the
European shows?

RC: In the U.S. it is very much on the rise, the
shows over here are getting bigger and bigger and bigger. With them, we
did two legs, two U.S. legs and every show was killer. Back in 2010,
that is when I first met these guys with my other band, The Damned
Things, they took us on tour. That’s when I first heard the music and
met the guys and became friends. Even that tour was sold out every
night. It was an awesome tour. Volbeat is definitely on the rise in
America. In Europe obviously it is crazy. It is just a really good
feeling all around. There is a lot of excitement about this band and the
new record, just good vibes.

Peter Frampton is a true guitar legend, revered by every single one of his peers. As his Guitar Circus tour rolls into town this week, crowds will be amazed by the beautiful music from his catalog of 40 years of music, as well as performances by Blues legend B.B. King and special guests Sonny Landreth and Dave Hidalgo (Los Lobos).

CityBeat: What has been the highlight of Frampton’s Guitar Circus so far?

Peter Frampton: It is hard to say because we have had so many incredible guitar players play with us already. The list is growing every day. From the other night, Vinnie Moore to Vince Gill to Don Felder to Roger McGuinn. It is like every night is so different. Every night is a highlight with all of these amazing players. Sometimes we only have someone for one night because of scheduling, like Vinnie Moore was only one night. John Jorgenson was only one night from Elton John’s band, who is also a wonderful Jazz artist (and) was with me on my Fingerprints CD. Some nights we get one, some nights we get three and sometimes we are lucky enough and we get Don Felder for six (shows) and Roger McGuinn for six (shows). They are all split up and don’t happen at the same time. I can’t really pick one.

CB: When did you come up with the idea and how did you bring it all together for the tour this year?

PF: It was last year after my little sabbatical, my year off after the Comes Alive (anniversary) tour. I was going, “What can I follow this with?” because it was a very successful tour and probably one of the most successful tours I have done in years.

It was one of those things where I said I have got to do something with other artists. We had been doing shows for quite a few years now with just me, "An Evening with," as it were. It was something I wanted to do with as many guitarists as I could, to have an opening act with a great guitar player and then have some guests. The idea was there. I sat down with my manager Ken Levitan and I said what I wanted to do. He said, “Why don’t we call it something like a 'guitar circus'?" I said that was great. It was fantastic. I have to give him credit. He came up with the idea and then we have as many guests as we can along the way.

At that point, we decided we would try to have a three-act show, which is what it is in Cincinnati, where it is Sonny Landreth opening it up. He is not an opening act, he just starts the evening because he is a headliner himself. He is a phenomenal player and has such a great history. We have him starting the evening off for us with his amazing band and himself.

The person that when we first put our feelers out (for) who might be interested in coming along with us on the Guitar Circus and said yes was B.B. King, which blew me away. That set the whole tone for the whole Guitar Circus because everyone said, “If B.B. King is doing it, I’ve got to do it.” It gave us great credibility right from the start. So B.B. King will come on. We played for the first time with him the other night. I got to sit in and jam with him, which was a dream come true.

After B.B. goes off we come on and do our hour and a half. During that period, David Hidalgo will come on, he is our guest in Cincy, from Los Lobos. He has played a couple dates with us already and it is incredible. We become Los Lobos and it is phenomenal. It is just great. It is very exciting every night. It is a challenge to be that person’s band when they come on. I’ve got an excellent band so we do a really good job.

CB: You mentioned B.B. King, who is an all-time legend. What do you talk to B.B. King about backstage?

PF: Well, I went back and saw him when he arrived in his own bus. I thanked him for being the reason why this whole tour is being successful, because he was the first person to say yes. I said, “Not only is it an honor that you are on one date, but you are on nearly four weeks of dates with me, every night.” I just couldn’t thank him enough. He said he was thrilled to be a part of it. I think there is a mutual respect as guitarists, definitely my way. To be able to sit and play with him the night before last was incredible. He is going to be 88 and he is still doing it. It is absolutely incredible that he is, and we are all thrilled that he is. He is just the sweetest guy. You wouldn’t think that someone as legendary as him is that nice but he is. He is a sweet, sweet man. You can’t believe it. It is how you wish everybody could be when you meet them. He takes the cake that is for sure.

CB: I can hear you smiling through the phone just talking about playing with him.

PF: It doesn’t get any better. It is one of those moments I won’t ever forget. I am not sure I will be doing it every night. I hope so. He said I can tell him what I want to do and walk out and play. He means what he says. I am just getting to know him. It is unbelievable that we had never met before until the other night. Now it feels like we have known each other for years.

CB: I saw you recently perform this Spring on The Voice. You went on with Terry McDermott during the finals. A lot of artists are coming out and speaking negatively about shows like this that try to make people stars overnight because they don’t have to pay their dues over years. Do you have any feelings about that?

PF: I am not a big fan of those shows in general. The part that I don’t like is that it is this nationwide talent show. These people come on, and it’s their fault, they put themselves in that position to have someone ream them on national TV. I sort of cringe every time I see that, (no matter how) rightly or wrongly how the judge is.

I have been asked to be a judge on those things. You will never see me as a judge. I would be saying everybody stays. That’s not me. I know what I like and everything, and I will say it in private, but I am not going to say, “You suck and get out of here,” which is basically what happens.

They asked me over a weekend, like two days before the show, if I would do The Voice. I asked them to fill me in and tell me what it was about. Then I listened to Terry and liked him a lot, all his clips and everything. I thought it was just excellent. It was a wonderful opportunity for me to go on there and do a duet. For me it was just a performance within one of those types of shows. I wasn’t part of voting anybody on or off. It was something I enjoyed doing and I think it came off really well. We got such a demand for the song, we mixed it and released it as a single. So it is on iTunes as well.

CB: What is your favorite guitar to play?

PF: I just got my Phoenix back, that is what it has been called. It is the guitar that was supposedly lost and burnt up in the plane crash in South America in Venezuela. After having that back for a year and a bit now, it is definitely my favorite. I have other favorites, but there is something about that one and the history, you know of me getting it in time to play on Humble Pie’s live record, Rockin’ the Fillmore, and everything I did in the 70s, all my solo records. It was one of only two electric guitars that I had. To have that back, it has become my favorite again overnight.

CB: I own a few Jim Marshall photographs and one is of you at Oakland Stadium in 1975. Do you remember that day? Obviously that photograph is iconic itself, but is there anything special about that day in California? Did that photo change you in any way?

PF: In San Francisco and Detroit and New York, we were already pulling huge crowds just from word of mouth and the solo albums I had out, and obviously my time with Humble Pie. I think that was the very first time we did it at a stadium. There is nothing quite like looking out to 65,000 people … I think the biggest place we had played was Madison Square Garden. There is a huge energy-level discrepancy between an arena and a stadium. There is nothing quite like the adrenaline it gives you to see 65,000 people with their hands in the air shouting at you. You never forget that first time. There were many after that in stadiums, but that first one was pretty incredible.

CB: I speak to a lot of guitar players. I spoke to one the other day that said a guitar broke up his relationship. Have you ever had a guitar break up a relationship?

PF: No, but it has come really close. The guitar, she is the other woman, always. The passion you have for music is very strong and it does come with jealousy sometimes when you prefer to play the guitar than be with the woman.

Red-hot Blues guitarist is headed to Riverbend for a show with his all-star power trio, The Rides

Kenny Wayne Shepherd has brought a youthful side to American Blues music ever since the great success of his first album, Ledbetter Heights,
which went platinum and reached No. 1 on the Blues charts. He was just
17 at the time of the album's release and has gone on to put out several
more successful Rock/Blues albums with his Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band,
featuring Cincinnati's Noah Hunt on lead vocals.

Shepherd has developed a new exciting project called The
Rides with Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Stephen Stills and Barry
Goldberg, a veteran musician who formed The Electric Flag with Mike
Bloomfield in the late ’60s and has written and produced many classics. The Rides are performing at the Ohio River
Throwdown, a new Roots music festival, this Saturday at Riverbend Music
Center, playing alongside other acts like Tedeschi Trucks Band, JJ Grey
and the Mofro, Los Lobos and many other artists. CityBeat chatted with
Shepherd recently about his new project.

CityBeat: I saw behind the scenes videos
of The Rides recording in the studio together. What was your favorite
experience being in the studio with the other two guys?

Kenny Wayne Shepherd: Well, the whole thing was a
really good experience. Everybody had a really great time doing the
record. It’s just very interesting. You look back over the course
Stephen's career, and Barry as well, and these guys have made some
really tremendous records in their time. They have also been on so many
albums and done this for so many years that they have accumulated a vast
wealth of knowledge of how to do things in the studio. For me, even
though I have had my recording career for 20 years now, I still consider
myself to be like a sponge, just trying to soak up as much information
as I can. I learned a lot from those guys and it was a really good time.

CB: Where did the name of the band actually originate?

KWS: We were putting our heads together. It went on
for two weeks. One of the hardest things to do is to come up with a
band name, at least it can be one of the most challenging things to do. A
lot of the reasons why it is so hard to do nowadays is because almost
every name has been used. Everything we came up with, we would go back
home and I would look it up online and do a Google search and someone
would have that name and we would start over again.

We spent a lot of the time in the studio between
recordings … Stephen and I are both big car guys, I mean we love cars.
Stephen and his wife have some of the most incredible cars you could
hope to own. I have a pretty cool collection myself. We spent a good bit
of time talking about cars and driving and stuff like that. As we were
exploring name options for the band, one day we were at Stephen's house
and I had driven my 1964 Dodge to his house and we were walking out to
the driveway to leave and he just looked at my car and said, “You know
we should be called 'The Rides.' ” I was like, “Yeah. That’s cool.” I
went home and checked and couldn’t find anybody with that name. So here
we are.

CB: What is your favorite car you have?

KWS: I don’t know. I would say right now my 1969
Dodge Charger, and I think it is one of the most beautiful, one of the
most visually stunning cars that was ever designed. Probably that one is
my favorite.

CB: I have listened to the new album and I really, really love it. What is your favorite song to play on the new album?

KWS: I go through phases when I do a new record
like, “Right now this is my favorite song …” and then a few months from
now a different one is my favorite one. Currently my favorite is “Can’t
Get Enough,” the title track. That song is a great representation of
this band and what we are about. It is one of the songs we wrote
together. It has great, heavy guitars. It has got really, good lyrics.
Even the vocal is nice and raspy and bluesy. There are lots of dynamics
to that song and I think it is just really a great representation of who
we are as a group.

CB: Typically you are touring with your band by yourself. What was it like splitting singing duties with Stephen?

KWS: I split singing duties, to a degree, in my own
band. I have Noah Hunt, who is from Cincinnati, he has been my lead
vocalist for 17 years. But over the past few years of my career, I have
stepped up here and there to the microphone when I wanted to, and on the
last record we recorded, Noah and I sang a lot of songs together. I
have kind of started to integrate that idea into my own band even though
I tend to let Noah sing most of the songs because he has such an
incredible voice and it enables me more to focus more on my guitar
playing. There is certainly, in this band, more vocal responsibility for
me. I really wanted to do it. It is pretty cool. Like being around
Stephen, who is so well known for his singing and vocals, it has been
inspiring to me to step up to the microphone and sing more.

CB: I thought I saw Noah at the Peter Frampton show in Cincinnati.

KWS: He was there. He went to the show because we
had just been on the road with Peter over the past two months, we had
done some shows with him. Noah wanted to go hang out and see everybody
when they came through town so he went.

CB: What is the favorite guitar you have ever played?

KWS: The one I am most attached to is my 1961 Stratocaster. It is the first Strat I ever got.

When you are a guitar player you hear this story about how
there is this one guitar that is your soulmate. There is one guitar out
there that was built for you. You know it the minute you pick it up and
start playing it. Some guys go their entire lives trying to find it. I
found this guitar when I was just 15 years old. The minute I picked it
up, it fit me like a glove. I did everything I could to get it, I
couldn’t afford it at the time, then later on, the following year, it
was in Los Angeles at the Guitar Center. Then I came back a year later
and it was still there. I still didn’t have the money to afford it, but I
decided I wasn’t leaving the store without it. I told my Dad, he was
like “We gotta go.” I’m like, “I’m not leaving without this guitar.”
Between him, the guy at my record company, my A&R guy, my music
attorney, they decide they would split the cost up on their credit cards
as long as I agreed to pay them back. I did. That guitar has been with
me ever since. It has toured the world with me and been on every record I
have ever done. It is just my baby.

CB: That is a great story. I have
interviewed so many guitar players and nobody has talked to me about
their soulmate guitar before.

KWS: Yeah, well, it really is. I don’t know about
those guys but there is a bond between me and that instrument. I feel
like all guitar players have their go-to instrument and there should be a
really solid connection between them and the instrument.

CB: Social media has become invaluable
with marketing music and musicians. When you are on the internet, in
general, where do you spend most of your time?

KWS: I am a creature of habit and repetition when
it comes to browsing the web. I have a couple of sites I look at every
day. I go online and get my daily dose of the news. I usually go to AOL,
because half of their stories report the news and the other half are
like looking at a tabloid magazine. They have some really weird stuff
they put up there.

I have a couple car enthusiast websites, like there is a
website called Moparts.org which is for all Mopart Car enthusiasts. I
love the Dodge/Chrysler/Plymouth brands, so I am a Mopart guy.

There are a couple guitar pages that I go onto to see what
is going on in the world of guitar. I check in, there is a page called
thegearpage.net, then I go to the Fender Forums and Fender.com.

I am also obsessed with the new Tesla Electric cars. I
have been browsing their forums a lot educating myself on their
technology and stuff. I am kind of a geek when it comes to cars and all
things mechanical.

CB: Can you tell us what the fans can expect from The Rides' live show in Cincinnati?

KWS: We just rehearsed, we just had four days to
rehearse for this tour and none of us had played any of these songs
since we recorded the album back in December. So I guess with my
schedule with my band and Stephen and his band, we had a very narrow
window of opportunity to prepare for this tour.

We are basically going to do the album and throw in a few
songs from my catalog and Stephen's catalog and stuff that Barry wrote
that other people recorded. The whole goal is to be loose and have a
good time and just play music together. They’ll hear a little bit of my
stuff, a little bit of Steven’s stuff, a little bit of Barry’s stiff,
then they’ll hear the whole (Rides) record.

Popular Indie Folk/Rock group The Decemberists believe that life as a musician means continual evolution and, over the course of a career, any band worth paying attention to will pursue a sound, a direction of great adventure. The Oregon-based group has spread from West Coast bars to packed theater-sized venues throughout the country. The band — whose recent LP, The King Is Dead, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Top 200 album chart — has collaborated with members from My Morning Jacket, R.E.M. and even the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

CityBeat spoke with bassist Nate Query in advance of tonight's Decemberists' show at Riverbend's PNC Pavilion about the new album and tour, the upcoming break the band will be taking and where the band is headed.

Blues rocker plays PNC Pavilion Friday with the legendary Buddy Guy

Blues/Rock legend George Thorogood has done just about everything a musician can do over his 30 years on the road. Along with his vintage Gibson ES-125, the only guitar he has ever played, cared to play or even knows how to play, he has delighted audiences with a catalog of hits, like “Bad to the Bone” and “Move It On Over,” which he can still play every night to provide a familiar, comfortable performance any audience can love.

CityBeat: Do you ever get tired of playing your hits like “Bad to the Bone”?

George Thorogood: I get tired, yes, but I don’t get tired of playing them. You see, we created those songs to play live. That was the whole purpose of them. I get asked that question a lot. I don’t understand it. Do artists make songs up and not want to play them a lot?

CB: Most of the time they say they love to play them and most bands wish they had songs like that.

GT: It has always made me feel strange because I thought if you worked really hard and made an automobile, like a BMW or something, would you get tired of selling BMWs? That is the whole purpose of making them, isn’t it?

CB: Yeah, to share them.

GT: I don’t get tired of playing them. What I would get freaked out about is if people didn’t want to hear the songs.

CB: You have been touring a lot this year. What is the biggest difference in touring now versus the 1980s when you started?

CB: I think artists now are so freaked out with social media and people seeing everything and having access to people and things can get out very quickly. I think people are less likely to have fun sometimes.

GT: That part of it, yeah, but that part isn’t going away if you are famous. You can lose your money but you can’t lose your fame. That is going to be happening anyway.

News just gets to people quicker now than it did 30 years ago. It’s the yin and the yang of the whole thing, when you become famous. You have to take what comes along with it. That part is not a lot of fun. But if you quit and you stop, it’s still going to exist whether you play or not. If Harrison Ford retires tomorrow, people are going to be talking about it in some form or shape.

The other part of it is a lot easier. We have better hotels. There is air conditioning. We have buses. The venues are better — better for the fans, better for the bands. It’s a business now. It’s a multi-billion dollar industry. They have put so much time and capital into the business to make it up on that level. In that way, I have survived that and I am part of it. That is something to be very proud of.

Let’s face it, the club owners and promoters and everybody are not going to be interested in you unless you are going to make a profit. We are a consideration and not an afterthought when it comes to that.

CB: Are you working on any new music while you are out on the road?

GT: Not really. We are working on putting together a record that has a combination of all the originals we have done over the years and adding one or two new ones to it. It’s a project on the table at this time.

CB: I know you are a big baseball fan. I am actually surprised you are touring during baseball season. The Reds aren’t going to be there on Friday. How are you feeling about baseball this summer?

GT: That’s a fun question. I have never altered my work schedule. I don’t know how that started. I took one summer off to play in a softball league and it was about 20 games, but I was active the whole time. If I took off during baseball season, I’d be broke. I wouldn’t be able to put 15 years together. It’s summertime. I have to go out and perform. There is no getting around it.

I don’t know any baseball players saying they are taking off the summer because Thorogood is touring.

CB: What is your favorite guitar to play live?

GT: I only play one guitar, a 125. It’s the only guitar I’ve ever played. It’s the only guitar I know how to play. Actually, I like to prance around on stage singing like Mick Jagger does, but I can’t sing as good as him. So the 125 is the only one I use.

Please tell people not to steal it. They don’t make them anymore and that is the only kind I can play.

CB: Have you ever lost any gear or had it stolen?

GT: Yeah, it’s been stolen a couple times, but we got them back. We finally put up a sign saying, “Stop stealing George’s guitars. They don’t make them anymore and it’s the only kind he can play.”

CB: I’ll make a note in the article. You mention Mick Jagger and I saw the Stones live for the first time last month and it was pretty amazing. I know you toured with them and you have had many great tours over the years, but what is your craziest tour story?

GT: Craziest? Like mental and I need a prescription from a psychiatrist?

CB: Sure.

GT: None. What’s your idea of crazy?

CB: Crazy fans, crazy parties, anything?

GT: I’ve never been to any crazy parties. There have never been any crazy fans, ever. The Rolling Stones are 100% professional outfit ran by Bill Graham. There is no time for any craziness. There was too much money involved.

The Three Stooges do crazy things. The Rolling Stones and Bill Graham do not. Everything is professional. Everything was in ship-shape … they wouldn’t still be in business now if they didn’t do that. If they did anything crazy or wild, they did it while I was not around.

Sorry, but I do not know where all this comes from … but when I showed up, I am the only guy that can turn an orgy into a Boy Scout camp. When I show up, it is clean cut and above the board, all the way.

CB: No more fun when you arrive.

GT: It was total fun. It was all fun. It depends on what your idea of fun is. My idea of fun is playing on a stage and getting to see The Rolling Stones free every night. In that case, that was wild and crazy. That is as wild and crazy as I want to get.

CB: They were amazing. I was blown away. I had waited so many years to see them. I am glad I finally got the chance.

GT: Yeah. They are better now than ever.

CB: I have nothing to compare it to other than films.GT: Well I do, and you have to go see them now.

CB: If you could trade places with anybody for a month, who would it be?

GT: Trade places with anybody? Probably Michelle Obama.

CB: Why?

GT: I’d like to know what it feels like to be the most powerful person in the world, even if it is only a couple of days.

CB: What current music do you listen to? I know you have been inspired by many of the greats over the years. Do you listen to any current music?

GT: I am a little busy with my own. I haven’t really had a chance to sit and relax and listen to any current music for the last 40 years because I have been busy with my own business.

CB: What is your favorite guitar solo you have ever recorded?

GT: Oh, please, come on, the favorite guitar solo I’ve ever recorded. I’ve recorded so many I can’t even remember some of them.

CB: I know, but some people have an experience or something that stands out.

GT: Every one of them.

CB: What is the hardest part about being on the road?

GT: Being away from my family.

CB: What can the fans expect on Friday night?

GT: I’m sure they aren’t going to walk out there and say, “I hope George is OK tonight.” You go see the Cincinnati Reds, you expect them to win, don’t you?

CB: Of course.

GT: Well, there you go.

Thorogood's music video for "Willie and the Hand Jive," filmed in Corryville at the club now known as The Mad Frog:

Danish metallers headed to Columbus' Rock on the Range this weekend

Since the last time we saw Volbeat in Cincinnati, the band has blown up in the U.S. thanks in part to its tour with Megadeth and Motorhead. Volbeat is a first-class Danish Metal band that is taking North America by storm, playing coast to coast. The band has been touring the album Beyond Hell/Above Heaven for a couple years and are set for another run this summer.

CityBeat recently spoke with band drummer Jon Larsen about Volbeat's evolution over the short period of time since they were last seen in Ohio. Volbeat takes the stage at Rock on the Range in Columbus this weekend along with the rest of the best acts in Metal and Rock music.

CityBeat: I know you guys just got off the Gigantour Tour. Did you have any crazy Motorhead or Megadeth stories along the way?Jon Larsen: No, not really actually, not really any interesting stories to tell. We got along fine with both camps and everybody was in high spirits. I think it was definitely a great tour for all.CB: Rock on the Range is always a crazy time in Columbus. What are you looking forward to about the show and are you looking forward to seeing any other bands there?

JL: Oh yeah, I am always looking forward to seeing Anthrax. We like to hang out with those guys. We have hung out with them a few times. We don’t know (Rob) Zombie or (Marilyn) Manson, but Anthrax is gonna be cool.

CB: Growing up, what were your biggest musical influences?

JL: We had tons of influences, everything from Social Distortion to The Misfits to Metallica to, say, Johnny Cash, everything. That is why we do what we do. We blend all of our influences together and that is what has become us.

CB: What do you do on your down time on the road?

JL: It depends on where we are. Yesterday and today we have been in Memphis, so of course we all went to Graceland and saw that. What else? I guess the usual things, relax, watch movies, go to the mall, restaurants, usual stuff, nothing fancy.

CB: Did you say you went to Graceland yesterday?

JL: Yes we did.

CB: Is that the first time?

JL: For me it was; Michael has been there three times before. For me it was my first time and it was definitely interesting to see where Elvis had lived.

CB: Were you an Elvis fan?

JL: I like him. I won’t say that I am a fan like Michael is, but of course I like the music that Elvis did. It was cool.

CB: I talked to Michael last summer, the last time you guys came through Cincinnati at Bogart's, and I talked to him about a few of the songs. But since that time, “A Warrior’s Call” has really taken off and has become a sports anthem. Can you tell me a little of the backstory behind that song?

JL: It was written for a Danish boxing champ Mikkel Kessler. Michael had gotten to know him and they had become good friends and one day they were joking around because we found out Kessler had used one of our previous songs as his walk-on music and Michael had said, “Why don’t you get some real music, a real song?” and he said “Why don’t you write me a song?” and he said “OK, I can do that.” So that is the story behind “A Warrior’s Call” — it was written specifically for Kessler but it seems like especially in America everyone from hockey teams to weddings are using that song for lots of stuff which is kind of fun in a way.

CB: You guys were just kicking off your North American tour the last time we spoke in Cincinnati. What was the highlight of your tour through North America in the past year?

JL: That is difficult to say, actually. I don’t know. We played two nights in Anaheim, Calif., which both sold out. We played in New York, which has always been great. We have done some shows at a place called the Machine Shop in Michigan which is always a great laugh. Those are some of the highlights; I can’t point out anything in particular.

CB: Are you guys going to go back to Europe for summer festivals there?

JL: We are going to do one festival in Europe this summer which will be in Germany. That is the only European festival that we are going to be doing this year.

CB: Are you working on new music at all on the road?

JL: Yeah, before we went back on the road for this one, we had spent a lot of time rehearsing trying to come up with some new stuff. A lot of bits and pieces, a few half-finished songs here and there, but nothing that is that finished yet. But we are definitely working on getting into the studio late this year and have a new album out some time next year.

CB: What can you tell the fans to look forward to at Rock on the Range?

JL: Well, good music, a few good laughs, a few bad jokes. I guess that’s it. Hopefully a lot of positive energy.